Paul B. Hunker III, a native of St. Louis, Missouri, is a partner at DMCA, LLP. Prior to joining DMCA he spent his entire legal career representing the former U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS), and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). He served as the Chief Counsel for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Department of Homeland Security, Dallas Office of the Principal Legal Advisor (OPLA). Mr. Hunker graduated magna cum laude from Marquette University in 1989 and from Georgetown University Law Center in 1992 where he was a member of the Georgetown Immigration Law Journal.
Mr. Hunker also serves as an Adjunct Professor of Law at the Dedman School of Law at Southern Methodist University in Dallas, Texas. He is committed to educating the next generation of lawyers and advocates, and he brings a wealth of real-world experience to his classroom instruction.
In October 1992, he was selected to work for INS pursuant to the Attorney General Honors Program and began working as an Assistant District Counsel. In September 2001, he was detailed to Washington, D.C. to assist in providing immediate immigration law advice to agents during the weeks following the 9/11 attacks. When the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) was created, he became the Chief Counsel of ICE in Dallas on March 1, 2003.
In the summer of 2011, Mr. Hunker served as the Acting Director of Field Legal Operations. In 2012, he was awarded ICE’s Excellence in Management award. In 2013, he was awarded the DHS Office of General Counsel’s One OGC award for his work on the Comprehensive Immigration Reform Team.
Paul B. Hunker III is a highly experienced and skilled attorney with a deep understanding of immigration law. He possesses vast experience across all aspects of immigration and nationality law. His organizational awareness of ICE, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, and U.S. Customs and Border Protection facilitates effective representation and communication with agency officers and attorneys. From federal litigation, removal defense, asylum, parole, ICE audits and investigations, or deportation defense, he can provide guidance on a personal or corporate level.